The End of The Beginning

Chapter 41

Chapter 41:

 

            Kyle and I sat on the curb for a while and waited for Rose and Brook to stop quarreling. Kyle remained still and silent on the edge of the curb, lying down, while I sat up as straight as a ruler. I thought I saw a tear trickle down his freckled face, but it may have been a trick of the late night light.

            Rose and Brook walked back to where Kyle and I are sitting. I could tell Rose was trying to conceal a grin but I wasn't going to push for answers. Not yet. Brook barely acknowledged me since we've crossed paths. She walked towards Kyle and grabbed his limp hand, pulling him into a sitting position. She whispered something in his ear that I couldn't make out and the two of the walked away.

            Rose grabbed my cold hand, turning it over in her small fingers. I sighed, pulling her down to sit next to me. She put her arm across my shoulders and rested her head. We simply sat there for a few moments before we heard yelling coming from the direction of Kyle and Brook. I abruptly sat up from our comfortable position, causing Rose to whimper like a puppy. "They're okay, trust me." She reassured. I hadn't realized my eyebrows were knit together, but I suddenly relaxed, noticing the tension everywhere.

            I could tell Rose was stealing glances at me. Smiling to myself, I sat to face her. "How've you been, Ro?" The nickname popped into my head the second the words came out. I figured 'Rosie' would be a bad idea. Her emerald eyes made their way to my sea foam eyes.

"I like that, the nickname, I mean." She replied, nestling her head in the crevice between my neck and my head. I looked up at her, and gulped. God, she looks so beautiful. What, with the moonlight reflecting off her flames of hair and green eyes? And her body is nestled into mine so that we are not two people, but simply one.

Looking at her, I prepared for a story. "I knew a man with nothing in his hands, nothing but a rolling stone. He told me 'bout when his house burnt down and he lost everything he owned. He lay asleep for six hole weeks, they were gonna ask his mother to choose. When he woke up with nothing, he said, 'I'll tell you something: when you;ve got nothing, you've got nothing to lose.'" I said it with a rhythm. For the mere fact that this is but a song. "Now I've got a hole in my pocket, a hole in my shirt, a whole lot of trouble,' he said. 'But now the money is gone, life carried on, and I miss it like a hole in the head.'" I finished.

"Rose, sometimes I feel like this song is about me, you know? My house burned down and I really thought I had nothing. I didn't have anything to lose. As it said, I had holes everywhere, and I mean that in the metaphorical sense. Life carried on though, I miss my old life, but, hey! I'm here. And Rose, with you in my life, the whole world could be burning and I wouldn't care. Without you there's a hole in my heart. I've got everything to lose without you. I know I said it once before but it seems like centuries ago. Rose, I love you." I was out of breath from my 'rant'.

Meanwhile, Rose sat there, white as a ghost. "When people get attached to me..." she gulped. "Bad things happen. I love you, Owen. But, I really need you to understand." She let go of my hand, standing up. "It's for the best." She kissed my forehead, and walked away, leaving me dumbfounded on the side of the curb. I could see her shadow walk away from me and towards Kyle and Brook. Somebody was crying, but couldn't tell who it was. I could tell this, though. Brook nodded her head and a ball of fire appeared. Rose jumped through it.

Stricken into panic, I made the 'armadillo pose' on the sidewalk of London while Brook and Kyle stopped bickering long enough to tell something was wrong. My mind kept racing over one thought. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault.

Kyle walked towards me with Brook. I was in too much despair to notice Kyle was holding Brook's hand. Kyle sat on the curb with me, patting my back. (It was quite an awkward site.) "It's not your fault," he whispered to me. I knew he was lying. I just nodded, engulfed in an ocean of my terror tears. "Dude, you're shaking like a wet dog."

I can't breathe. I'm taking short, raspy breaths through my mouth, my nose completely blocked off. I am vaguely aware of myself shaking even though it can't be under seventy degrees. I can barely hear the shouts of Kyle as he desperately runs to Brook. It's nearly black out but it's light enough that I can tell my vision is going fuzzy and black at the edges. I remember thinking that I'm about to die. Before my vision finally goes away and my body feels limp.

(A/N: Welcome back, Brook. Everyone seemed to like her when she first arrived so why not bring her back? Well guys, I'm nearly a third of the way through my book and it already has 1K reads!! I know I thanked you guys last time but this is really super exciting for me, I love you guys so much. Anyway I'm not going to be posting as much because I'm going to try and make my chapters longer and better. I'm also crazy busy with school and stuff, so, sorry about that! Hope you like this chapter, if there's any feedback I would really appreciate it :P )